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Saturday, November 30, 2013

FROZEN


Looking for something to do this weekend? Kids bored and underfoot? Take them to see FROZEN, the newest Disney offering and a movie fit for the whole family. Even my middle-schoolers and-- more importantly-- my husband liked it! It's rare for us that everyone can see a movie together and actually enjoy it.



What I liked most about FROZEN was the message woven throughout the movie: If you close yourself off to people and give into fear, you're gifts won't be used the way they are intended. But if you open up to others and take a risk in loving and being loved, your gifts can become something beautiful. Fear and isolation lead nowhere good. Risk and loving are scary-- but also rewarding. This story perfectly depicts this.

I also liked what Papa Troll said-- if something is in your head, it can still be removed, but if it lodges in your heart, only an act of true love can take it away. The difference in head knowledge and heart belief is significant, and something to keep in mind when raising our kids.

So get out of the house on this long weekend together and take in a movie. Then go have pizza after and talk about your favorite parts. Your kids won't forget the special family time-- and neither will you!
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Grateful Intentions



 
 


It's that moment you open your eyes in the dark to find your 8yo daughter standing beside your bed, a stricken look on her face that is obvious despite the dark. You can feel the sickness coming off her, sense her anxiety as she says those words every mother dreads, "Mommy, I don't feel good." You hear a cold, icy rain pounding on the roof and as you try to fall back asleep you can't stop your mind from spinning. You are already speeding hours ahead, into the future and your amended plans. The rain alone is a game changer. Gone are the lofty plans of spray painting leaves silver to grace your dining room table for the big day on Thursday. Gone is the hope of getting in a big grocery run while the kids are at school. That would be miserable in icy cold rain, and now that there will be a child at home? Well, forget it for sure. And that big "welcome home" dinner for college daughter arriving today? That might not be as... extravagant as you'd hoped. It might be grilled cheese and tomato soup.

And so you get on the phone as soon as the doctor opens and they say that they can see you at noon. And you calculate all that will need to be done before you leave and you hope you don't wait an hour to see the doctor because it would be nice to get home with a little time to spare before the other kids (the well ones) need to be picked up. And there is almost no kids' Tylenol left and no kids' ibuprofen and thank goodness there is a bottle of ginger ale. The doctor suggests popsicles too and writes a script for penicillin and says "Yep, you have strep throat" to your 8yo daughter. And you think, well, I knew that already.



And somewhere in all of this you begin to count your blessings with a renewed sense of intention, because that is the time of year it is. The thing that is called for. To focus on being grateful and not grumpy. To go with the flow even when your Thanksgiving shopping still hasn't happened and there is no end to the rain. Even when your oldest won't be with the family on Thursday because he's in the Navy and there just wasn't leave time available to get home. Even when you see all that is in front of you to do and it feels like Mt Everest. There is still good to be found, you tell yourself. You must look.

Slowly the blessings emerge, like those hidden pictures you used to love. The ones where the items are there, they're just blended in with all the other stuff. Once your eyes got used to the puzzle, you could see them lurking, waiting to be discovered. The gratitude is this way too. It takes intention. It takes listening and looking and praying for help. It takes vigilance to not be so self-focused, so agenda-driven that you only see the inconvenience. And so today, I'm working on my grateful intentions, waiting for my eyes to adjust, so I can see what was there all the time.
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Friday, November 22, 2013

Preparing To Be Thankful


It's less than a week til Thanksgiving and I'm turning my thoughts to all that must be done for the big day. Do we have enough silverware (anyone else have disappearing spoons-- this is a phenomena akin to disappearing socks and not part of parenting I was prepared for)? Do we have enough plates for all the people? How will I set the table and where will the food be? What am I serving and when is it going to be prepared? Is there anything I can make ahead??

These are the thoughts that are starting to take over my brain.

http://www.hgtv.com/handmade/glittered-thanksgiving-banner/index.html
You can make a "give thanks" banner. Instructions for doing so are here.

But there are other thoughts as well. Thoughts of what the reason is for this holiday. I've been having less-than-grateful thoughts more than grateful ones and I'm trying to turn my thinking around. Here's some ways I've been inspired by lately, and I thought you might be too:

Make a "Top Ten Reasons I'm Thankful For You" list for each member of my family and present it to them on Thanksgiving morning.

Create a Thanksgiving Blessing Journal. Or some modification thereof. Even if you just write your own journal entry the morning of, or the night before if you're going to-- like me-- be spending the entire day in the kitchen on Thanksgiving.

Make place settings that inspire guests towards gratitude.

String a Thanksgiving Banner across your kitchen, or den, or... wherever.

Make a Wreath Of Plenty, so we can remember that we do have plenty, even when it seems that others have more or we don't have enough.

I hope these ideas got you thinking. They have inspired me to focus on the gratitude as much as I focus on the food.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Lingering Encounters


I found this quote the other day as I was considering buying a book that was on special for $1.99 and was reading up on what the book was about. (I need another book on my e-reader, which I hardly ever get to, like I need a hole in the head. But I'm so weak in the face of a $1.99 book.)

Moving on...

The author talked about his inspiration for the book and this quote jumped out at me.

"Two nights later, as I was walking through a quiet neighborhood, it dawned on me that the encounter with the sheriff wasn’t lingering with me as a person anymore. It was lingering with me as a writer. Because it was possibly the beginning of an idea. A quiet voice, the one that often ignites my books, started asking questions…"

(Source: http://www.kindlepost.com/2013/09/guest-essay-the-origin-of-wayward-pines-or-how-a-bullying-small-town-sheriff-inspired-a-book-series-.html)

I love how he phrases this-- how an encounter stopped lingering with him as a person, and started lingering with him as a writer. To make that distinction-- to see that shift occur-- is to know that you've lighted on something worth writing about. When your curiosity is piqued, that means the reader's might be too. How long you let it linger, how deep you go into those ensuing questions, remains to be seen and is different, I suspect, for each writer.

Incidentally, I bought the book. Of course.
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Monday, November 18, 2013

Who Am I? Here Am I.


 Note: this will be a week of shorts-- little bite-sized posts that are evidence of the kind of week I'm having. There is something scheduled for every day, M-F. I both love and hate these kinds of weeks. Love because I'm getting out of my house and engaging with the world. Hate because my writing and to-do lists at home suffer. But, such is life. These weeks happen.

A Q&A to ponder:

Q: “Who am I, Lord, that you are mindful of me?” Psalm 8:4

A: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

To me this is the balance of life-- a proper perspective balanced with a proper attitude. Who am I? (the question that indicates extreme humility and proper priorities) Here am I. (the answer that indicates that, in spite of our limits, we are willing to go wherever we are called)

When both are present, the result is unstoppable.


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Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Noah Movie


I have to admit that I was skeptical about this film when I first heard about it. But after seeing this just released trailer, I'm thinking it looks pretty good.



Synopsis: After visions of an apocalyptic deluge, Noah, the world’s only righteous man, is chosen to undertake a divine mission to build a massive ark to save his family and all of creation before the impending rains fall and the flood waters rise.

Cast: Russell Crowe, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson

Director: Darren Aronofsky
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A Million Little Ways, A Review And Giveaway!


"I don't believe there is one great thing I was made to do in this world. I believe there is one great God I was made to glorify. And there will be many ways, even a million little ways, I will declare his glory with my life."  Emily Freeman

I have to admit, I'm a skeptic about most nonfiction books put out by Christian publishers. Knowing some authors of these type books has rendered me jaded, and that's all I will say about that. But I'm not one to say never, so I keep my eye out for books that might be worth using as part of my morning reading-- something that will inspire me. I'm pretty picky but Emily Freeman's new book's title and description sounded like a perfect one to read as I prepared to teach story structure to 9th graders at a local private school. Perhaps I'd find some wisdom to share with them about creativity and inspiration. What I found instead was inspiration and wisdom for myself.

 Book Description: You were born to make art. You were made to live art. You might not see yourself as an artist, but you are—in so many unexpected ways. In what you create, whether poetry or pie, sculpture or sand castle, calligraphy or conversation. It’s time to uncover the shape of your soul, turn down the voice of the inner critic, and move into the world with the courage to be who you most deeply are.

See the artistic potential in words, gestures, attitudes, and relationships. Discover the art in a quiet word, a hot dinner, a made bed, a grace-filled glance, and a million other ways of experiencing God in the world through the simple human acts of listening, waiting, creating, and showing up.

We arrived here as art and we spend our lives uncovering the beauty we have to offer. As the community of humanity, we will do that in a million different little ways.
 
 
This was a book where I underlined lots of passages, and copied many down in my journal. One in particular prompted a group email I sent to several friends I knew would identify. I love when I find things in books that trigger a response like that.

What I loved most about the book is that, instead of addressing art in one particular way, Freeman challenges her reader to think about art in a broader sense-- a more all-encompassing view, with art being defined as just about anything you do with commitment and passion. I'm going to be honest, I'm weary of the "you have a great and mighty call on your life and you should go for it" type of books. And that's why this one was refreshing to me. She helped readers see that even the most ordinary pursuits can be seen as art, and lived accordingly. That's a needed message in a society that's growing increasingly obsessed with power and position and fame. What if, instead, we did even the littlest things with great love and attention? Freeman helps the reader do just that.

Sound like a book you need to read? I've got one copy to give away to a reader. Leave a comment and share what your art is for a chance to win!

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Journaling Out of The Blue(s)


This is not my journal. But it's a blue journal, which goes nicely with the title of this post, I think.
Source: http://www.papyrusonline.com/blue-wrap-tie-italian-leather-journal.html


The other day (ok, it was yesterday) I was having a bad attitude, so I got out my journal. I had a lot to say and no one to say it to. (Ok I knew no one wanted to listen to me mewl and kvetch and whine. I am at least old enough to recognize that and adjust accordingly. When I was younger... not so much.)

Confession, I may have used my journal to lament how hard it is to type on this new computer (see yesterday's post) and I keep making mistakes and some of the letters you have to press harder and so they don't show up and I keep hitting the numbers lock button instead of backspace and it's FRUSTRATING. And I had to spew all my pettiness somewhere. (I guess I sort of just spewed it here... forgive me. Surely some of you know how it feels to be petty, right? In my own defense, as a writer it's really, really important to be able to type quickly and proficiently and when you can't it really messes with you.)

But that is not what this post is about.

This post is about journaling, and how having a journal to pour your thoughts into is a very good thing. We should all have a place to put stuff-- our thoughts, our observations, memories, favorite verses and quotes, etc. I'm not sure who will get my journals someday but I like to think that they will be filled with wisdom and applicable life statements. That one of my kids or grandkids will read these words of mine and say, "Wow, she wrote this all those years ago and it's helping me even today."

Yes, I actually have these thoughts.

But these thoughts are not why I'm keeping a journal. I'm keeping a journal because it's an outlet. It helps me stay sane. It gives me a place to put all the stuff that rolls around in my head. It also gives me a place to process the things I'm dealing with. I've said before that I write my way to the truth in my journal. It's like sometimes I can't see the truth until it winds across the page, flowing before my eyes in bold black ink. Yes, that's it. Now I see.

So back to the other day yesterday, I was in a full blown pity party, so I wrote about that. About how I didn't want to have a pity party but I couldn't seem to snap out of it. I wrote about all the reasons I was despairing. I wrote down the things I was confused about. I got it all out, and it felt good. And then I stopped writing and listened to the sound of... laughter. In the kitchen. My three youngest, home from school, had decided to make their own lunch. And something about the effort had become funny. That laughter reminded me that, while I had a lot not going right, I had some stuff going very right. And so I listened to them laughing and I started to write down all the good things about my life, starting with the laughter in the kitchen. I'm not going to say it was a cure all, but it was a nice start, an actual step towards a better perspective and much better than the wallowing that was going on before I got the journal out.

Next time you have a bout of the blues, may I suggest getting out a journal and putting it all there? It's a safe and wonderful place to sort it all out. I recommend at least starting there. You never know where that one action will take you.
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Monday, November 11, 2013

Some Rambling That Shall Serve As A Blog Post


Warning: Rambling Ahead

I got a new computer and I'm not sure I like it yet. I do not take to change-- even good change like new computers. My other laptop had completely shorted out-- the dreaded blue screen of death-- about a year ago and my husband was able to revive it but he warned me that I needed to replace it because it could happen again. My desire to avoid change kept me hanging in there with the decrepit old one, coaxing it along every day even though sometimes it would go bonkers if I pulled up Pinterest and sometimes it decided to show only parts of my email screen. You can imagine how frustrating this was. But I would just sigh and shut it down and then bring it back up again. I told myself I was being loyal but the truth is I just didn't want to go through the headache (and cost) that getting a new computer would bring into my life.

Methinks there's a life lesson in there somewhere. I'll leave you to ruminate on that one yourself.

So this weekend I bit the bullet, took the plunge, etc and picked out the cheapest laptop I could find. The thing is huge. But it works. And I'm getting used to the new keyboard. The mouse is situated differently from my old one and the keys feel different when you press them and it just all feels weird... and did I mention I hate change? And yes, I hear myself bemoaning this new computer. First world problem FOR SURE. Me and this computer will have to keep getting to know each other. I'm looking forward to when it feels as familiar as my old one-- when I don't pick it up and think "This is a new computer." I spend far too much time on my laptop to feel strange about it.

But enough about that.

Today we are off from school for Veterans Day and I purposely didn't plan anything or even make a lengthy to-do list for myself. I am going to read and make dinner (bbq pork sliders, roasted potatoes and green beans with an Oreo pie for dessert), and watch some stuff we've DVR'ed but haven't had time to watch (Pioneer Woman and some Hallmark movies!). We are truly taking a day off, hard as that is for me to do. There is nothing I absolutely have to do at this present moment. And I'm going to go with that instead of coming up with something.

However you spend Veterans Day, I hope it involves thanking someone who has served. With my son off at Navy training, I'm appreciating this holiday like never before. Nothing like making it personal to make it personal.

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Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Menu (And A Recipe)


Today I'm posting a menu, even though it is not a Monday. That is because on Monday I was trying to recover from a whirlwind weekend in Chicago. If I get on top of things (bwah, ha, ha!) and can share here about our weekend soon, I will.

But yesterday I finally got a menu planned and got to the grocery store. And today there is chicken in the crockpot and our house smells more like home and there is just something about having food-- and meals-- in the house that is so settling. For some it might be when the house is totally clean or when the checkbook is perfectly balanced. But for me it's when there are meals on the menu board and the ingredients for said meals are in the house, just waiting to be cooked.

I also, incidentally, like it when I have freshly laundered sheets. And when my kitchen sink is sparkly and clean and white. Those things also make me feel like all is right in the world.

So anyway, here's my menu. And I included the chicken we're having tonight. Because it smells too good not to share. And it's so easy it feels a little bit like cheating.

Taco Salad (1 lb ground beef browned and mixed with 15 oz tomato sc and a packet of taco seasoning, simmer for at least an hour, then add to a bed of lettuce with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips)

Beef and Broccoli over rice (recipe found in this cookbook)

Meatball Subs, French Fries, Fruit (quick and easy-- use frozen meatballs cooked in the crockpot with your favorite bottled marinara sauce and serve in hoagie rolls with shredded mozzarella)

Roast with Carrots and Potatoes (also found in this cookbook), green beans

Barbecue Pork Chops (on the grill), Mac and Cheese, Lima beans

Whole Roasted Chicken, Salad, Baked Potatoes

Homemade Pizza

Chili and Cornbread

Gingerbread Muffins, scrambled eggs, grits, and bacon

Delicious Chicken
6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 cans golden mushroom soup
2 packets onion soup mix
1.5 cups white wine (I used chardonnay)

Put chicken in crockpot. Whisk other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook for 8 hours on low. Serve over egg noodles. I'm serving mine with roasted asparagus.
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Monday, November 04, 2013

Because I Am Simple... And Hopelessly Old-Fashioned


This post confused and overwhelmed me. It also made me feel very behind and inadequate. Because my system for keeping my family organized??

Is an-ti-qua-ted. I'm talking circa 1992. Possibly even earlier. Mrs. Cunningham on Happy Days could've used my system. And let's be honest? System is kind of a high-falutin word for what I do.

Here's my system. Are you ready? Because you are going to have to concentrate hard to keep up. Ok. Here we go: I have a write on/wipe off board on the side of my fridge where I write down all the meals I've planned. Beside that is one of those list pads with a magnet on the back. When we need something or run out of something, whatever it is goes on that list. That is my meal-planning system.

You with me?

And as for my chore chart, when there are jobs to be done I grab a piece of notebook paper (from the drawer in the kitchen desk where I store notebook paper) and I write down each child's name and the chore they are assigned beside it. They know when they come in from school that, if there is a piece of paper there, they better see what they've been assigned and get to it. Nothing I assign them after school takes longer than 15 minutes. I am diplomatic and assign something to each child just to make sure no one feels put upon and overloaded. And because if I get the kids to do it, I don't have to!

I'm smart that way.

And as for who is where when? And scheduling? Well now this part gets a bit technical but that's only because my husband is super progressive and loves himself an app like nobody's business. I have a paper calendar. Yes. The kind you carry in your purse and write on. With an actual pen. That is how I keep up with where everyone is. My husband's schedule, on the other hand, is on this fancy calendar app that he has synched with my iPad (because yes I do have one of those) and whenever he makes plans or schedules a flight or whatever, I can look at the calendar and see what he's doing.

If-- that is-- I remember to check the calendar. There have been times in the past, I will admit, where we have had to have serious conversations about my not checking his super-fancy calendar. Because why does he bother to update it and synch it if I am not going to check it?

Why indeed? I am trying to do better about this. I think he would agree that I have been making an effort to be newfangled and not so trapped in the 50's with my pen and paper. But if the world suddenly lost power and all these machines ran out of juice? My world would rock on. That is something to consider.

I'm not trying to make fun of my husband or this blogger. I totally respect them and their embracing of technology. Sometimes I wish I could be more progressive. But I've admitted to myself a long time ago that that is just not going to happen. Because my system? It works. Stuff gets done. People get where they need to be. Meals get made and served and no one goes hungry. Life clicks along just fine. And we all know the adage about not fixing things that aren't broken. If you're like me then I invite you to embrace your backwardness. Own your disdain for technology. Don't apologize for that pen and paper. Stand with Mrs. Cunningham and be proud of who you are.

PS. I feel compelled to tell you, after all this confessing, that I wrote this post on my iPad. I've never done that before-- always using my old laptop for writing blog posts. So maybe I'm more progressive than I thought! Let's just go with that.
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Friday, November 01, 2013

A Red Flag Afternoon


It's a beautiful day. I steal out to the beach with a book and contemplate the gorgeous surroundings I've found myself in, my gaze straying to the view and not the page. The water is inviting, seductive. If I stick my toe in, will it be cold? It is October after all, but it's also still 85 degrees. Maybe I could just walk along the edge, test the water, as it were.
 

The woman next to me speaks up, catches my attention because it seems she's reading my thoughts. "Don't go in the water," she says. "There's some bacteria in there that can attack your brain. Nine people have died."

I blink at her, trying to comprehend that something so beautiful could house something so harmful. A brain damaging bacteria? There? I tell her that's hard to believe and we talk for a few minutes about it-- how the cabana guys have been stopping people all afternoon, keeping them out of the water. "It's not even safe to stick your feet in," she tells me.

Well there goes that idea.

As the afternoon goes on we watch the cabana guys stop kids and adults from venturing into the dangerous waters. But there's no signage so they must be vigilant.


Later that day a flag finally flies. It's our warning. A literal red flag, waving in the warm fall breeze: Danger ahead. A sign that this place? This loveliness? It's hiding something dangerous. And the message isn't lost on me.

 
 
Sometimes things look beautiful and yet they cannot be trusted. Sometimes what we see isn't what we get. Sometimes the things we reach for (or dip our toes in) come back to bite us. We are filled with regret over something that once drew us in with beauty and appeal. And so I keep this picture on my computer and I remember the balance I must strike. Lovely mixed with caution. Beauty mixed with wisdom. Before I run headlong into the surf I should look for the red flags. And when they're not there? I should listen to the people around me who know more than I do.

And beware of brain eating bacteria.
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